Review: Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon Gold was one of the first video games I ever put a ton of time into. I had Pokemon Blue, of course (I got my copy when I found it in a parking lot. Seriously.), but I never finished it. But I put a lot of time into Gold. I got all the way through the Elite Four and their champion, until I finally got to Mt. Silver and the final “boss” of the game, Red. Try as I might, I couldn’t beat the guy. This may have had something to do with the fact that my team consisted of a level 72 Fearow and a bunch of level 30 dudes, but still. I tried to drill peck my way to victory again and again, until finally I put my copy of the game into my neighbor’s old Game Boy and accidentally erased my file. That, very promptly, ended my Pokemon Gold career.

I continued to play the series, though. Ruby was really the only reason I had a Game Boy Advance, and I bought a DS specifically to play Pearl and, eventually, Black and Black 2Now comes the sixth generation, X and Y, the main reason that many people are finally purchasing a Nintendo 3DS (though there are a host of reasons that you should have bought one a long time ago).

promotional photo courtesy of Nintendo
Promotional photo courtesy of Nintendo

Six generations in, you’d think that the Pokemon formula–catch monsters, train monsters, catch more monsters–would be getting old. It hasn’t. Pokemon X and Ylike the five other generations before it, scratches a certain itch that no other game does. And, had Gamefreak simply updated the graphics a bit and added a few incremental improvements, I, and certainly many others, would have been very happy.

Luckily, they didn’t. In many ways, Pokemon X and Y feel like the first truly evolutionary entry in the series since Gold and Silver. Most obvious are the graphics–for the firs time ever, a mainline Pokemon game is in full 3d. The difference is, quite honestly, spectacular. Seeing things as mundane as ledges and tall grass rendered in 3d is as surprising as it is wonderful. Kalos, the game’s France-inspired new region, pops with wonderful detail and color, from its Paris-like capital city to its chateaus and cafes. Pokemon battles benefit from the new graphics more than any other aspect–moves are animated in wonderful detail, and it adds a dynamic that simply hasn’t been possible in previous generations. When you use tackle, your Pokemon actually runs forward and tackles your opponent!

Gamefreak also takes advantage of the 3DS’s fairly good online system. You can see your friends and any other players you might encounter on the bottom screen. From there, you can seamlessly battle and trade with your friends. It’s a simple, clean system, definitely the best online component of a Pokemon game yet. You can also give other players buffs called “O-Powers,” increasing everything from their chance to catch Pokemon to the money the receive after winning a battle. It’s a system that encourages you to interact with other people, and it makes Pokemon feel more connected than it has in a very long time.

There are also a number of other major editions and refinements to the series. The most visible is the mega evolution. Basically, when certain Pokemon (all of which are from previous generations) are holding a specific mega stone, you have the option to mega evolve them in battle. This–until the end of battle–turns them into a souped up, slightly ridiculous version of their former selves. It sounds, and looks, exciting, but in the end I was kinda disappointed by mega evolutions, given that they amounted to battle-long buffs. It’s certainly fun to hit the giant MEGA EVOLVE button on the touchscreen, and it’s a neat feature, it’s just not a game changing one. The game changing features are things like the brand new EXP Share. Instead of an item that you would let a Pokemon hold, the EXP Share is now a key item that you can simply turn on. Turn it on, and all Pokemon in your party will receive experience from a battle, regardless of whether or not they participated. This makes it much easier to swap in new party members as you play through the game, as well as ensuring that none of your Pokemon fall severely behind in level. On the other hand, it did lead to my Pokemon being a bit over-leveled, making a fairly unchallenging game even easier.

And Pokemon is definitely still easy. I whipped through most of the gyms with ease, and I can’t imagine that most people will have any trouble. This isn’t exactly a bad thing–Pokemon has and should never be mega-challenging, along Shin Megami Tensei lines–but don’t come in expecting a challenge. The story itself, which focuses on the origins of Mega Evolutions, isn’t exactly engaging, and the game’s new antagonists (Team Flare!) are probably the least menacing enemies in a series that isn’t exactly known for intimidating foes.

Pokemon is a series that has always relied on a sense of wonder. You wake up one morning, grab a Pokemon, a pokeball, and some potions, and, with the encouragement of your mom, set out on an exciting adventure. That feeling of wonder I felt when I received my Chikorita and battled across Johto and Kanto in Gold is one that I really haven’t felt since. With Pokemon Y, I think I’ve found it again.

About Burk Smyth

Burk Smyth is a music writer for The Quad. He is from Baltimore, Md. and enjoys punk, indie, black metal, baseball, Magic: The Gathering, Everton Football Club and being terrible at Dota 2. Follow him at @burksmyth, where he tweets about Trent Reznor, Leighton Baines and dotes, mostly.

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